Our master's and doctoral programs require written examinations. The doctorate also requires an Applications Involvement Component and a dissertation.
Examinations
Students in the Ph.D. program take the qualifying examination. Students in the M.S. program take the comprehensive exam. Read guidelines for the qualifying and comprehensive exams (DOC).
Schedule of Upcoming Comprehensive and Qualifying Exams
Friday, Aug. 15, 2025
9 a.m.-noon
DuSable Hall 306
- Langellier - Differential Equations (Ph.D. level)
- Mondal - Differential Equations (Ph.D. level)
- Oyeyinka - Differential Equations (Ph.D. level)
- MacNeal - Analysis (M.S. level)
Please contact Prof. Deng if you have any questions.
Previous Exams
Applications Involvement Component
By completing the required Applications Involvement Component (AIC), you'll be exposed to mathematics in nonacademic settings. An AIC typically has three parts:
- Colloquia: You'll attend presentations by guest speakers from industry, government, and education to learn how mathematics is used outside of math departments.
- Internship: You'll participate in an internship in industry, government, or education.
- Report: You'll write a report and give a presentation about your internship experience.
Dissertation
Completing your doctoral program involves defending your dissertation. The Thesis and Dissertation Office can help guide you through the process. The steps involved include:
- Application to graduate filed.
- External examiner contacted (four to six weeks before the defense).
- Defense committee assembled (three to four weeks before the defense).
- Draft distributed to the defense committee (three to four weeks before the defense).
- Committee nomination and pre-defense copy submitted to the Graduate School (at least three weeks before the defense).
- Dissertation defense takes place.
- Post-defense version submitted to the Graduate School.
- Final version of the dissertation submitted.
Read a more detailed overview of the dissertation process (DOC).